Cat with bad breath

ziggy23

A few months ago I took a feral cat from a rescue place. She is a lovely little thing and has started to become more friendly (lies at the end of my bed etc) She is neutered and has all her injections etc. She has an overbite which makes her tongue stick out constantly. I've now noticed that her breath smells quite bad. She is not tame enough yet to get into a carrier to bring her to the vets but I'm just wondering is there anything I can buy that would help neutralise the smell? She doesnt seem to have any problems eating etc so hopefully it's not her teeth.

MaryK666

Hi Ziggy,
Bad breath in cats can be caused by many things from tooth problems, abscesses, gum disease, mouth ulcers, stomach problems to digestive issues or worse.

I appreciate that you're still getting to know your new kitty cat and she's getting to know you so getting her into a carrier might be an issue but I really would recommend getting her to a vet if you possibly can.
Masking her bad breath will not solve the underlying problem and, without treatment, it might get worse instead of better.

If you have a large enough carrier, it might be an idea to start feeding her in the carrier or putting little treats in there for her, with the door removed altogether, so that she gets used to the idea of going in it without feeling scared or trapped. I'd also put a blanket or a jumper of yours in it during the night so she comes to see it as a bed rather than a prison.
Once you do this a few times you can then put the door back on but leave it open until she gets used to it this way and then, when she goes in to eat you can just gently close the door behind her and whisk her off to the vets for a check up.

We still have this issue with one of our cats, an ex feral, who refuses to be picked up. We have to go down the treat route every time she needs the vet but it works a treat as she loves ham. ;D

Hopefully you can get her the help she needs but keep us updated.

TehDagsBass

ziggy23 wrote: »

She has an overbite which makes her tongue stick out constantly.

I'm a guy and yet still went "aww" when I read that

I'd second the opinion of getting her to a vet if possible. Our lad hates the carrier, so what we generally do when getting ready to bring him to the vet is to spray his bed/area where he's chilling out with Feliway. While he's relaxing we get the carrier ready, stick a load of newspaper in, in case of an accident, and stick a few sprays of Feliway in for him too. Then he's put into the carrier with a treat and let sit there with the gate closed until he's relaxed and then it's loaded into the car.

It's a bit of an ordeal but it has worked wonders compared to when we just stuck him into it and loaded it into the car. That resulted in lots of mewing, peeing and pooping which is not particularly pleasant given that he's trapped in there with it

ziggy23

Thanks for the replies guys. Yes I'll try get her to the vets as soon as possible. Hopefully it's nothing too serious as her teeth were checked out before I got her. Anyway here's Suki in all her sticky out tongue glory:p:p

TehDagsBass

Love it!

Sburke

Hi TGB, one of my rescues had bad breath...very fishy smell! Got the vet to check her out and her teeth were very bad....nothing we could have done to prevent it....it's in her genes. He recommended we get her teeth out, which we did and she's in mighty form since!! 18 teeth removed...cost €145 but so worth it for her quality of life. She's only 4 but it means a lot less risk of very serious problems in the future. Also she is still able to eat dry food! Good luck with your charge :-)

SillyMangoX

N'awwwwww! What a cutie! She looks so cheeky. My cat's sometimes forget to put their tongues back in after the clean themselves before they fall asleep and I think it's adorable. If I had your cat I would be constantly following her around saying awww

ziggy23

She is gas gone real friendly now:) I've heard dry food is much better for cats teeth? I have her on wet food as my other 2 cats have problems with struvate(sp?) crystals so the dried just makes them worse and its very hard to separate the 3 of them eating as Suki usually takes a bite out of every bowl before she finally decides which is hers:p

Zapperzy

If her teeth are bad with plaque there are a few things you can try (either if the vet says she's not bad enough for a dental or after a dental).
There's plaque off http://www.vetuk.co.uk/pet-dental-care-proden-plaque-off-c-11_833/proden-plaque-off-animal-for-dogs-and-cats-p-298 You add it into their food everyday, I find it great for the dog anyways, the cats a little fussy with her food so sometimes won't eat the food if she can smell/taste this stuff in it so haven't had as good results with her.
There's all sorts of toothpastes which if you've got a willing cat you can rub onto their teeth, or onto a paw so they lick it off http://www.vetuk.co.uk/pet-dental-care-tooth-brushes-tooth-paste-c-11_832
And there's all sorts of stuff you can add into their water http://www.vetuk.co.uk/pet-dental-care-dental-rinses-c-11_834
Then there's good old toothbrushing, but again you have to have a compliant cat!

Diet wise, personally through experience I can't say dry food ever did anything for my cat's teeth. If you watch them eat dry food they mostly swallow it whole or just crack it once with their back molars. Unless you tried the specific dental diets such as hill's t/d which have huge kibbles designed so they have to bite them. Personally though I'd go with a good quality wet food and some of the above suggestions. I also give mine raw meat and quail bones to chew on, it gives her mouth a good workout and tearing and chewing meat and cracking bones is supposed to keep the teeth clean.

ziggy23

Zapperzy wrote: »

If her teeth are bad with plaque there are a few things you can try (either if the vet says she's not bad enough for a dental or after a dental).
There's plaque off http://www.vetuk.co.uk/pet-dental-care-proden-plaque-off-c-11_833/proden-plaque-off-animal-for-dogs-and-cats-p-298 You add it into their food everyday, I find it great for the dog anyways, the cats a little fussy with her food so sometimes won't eat the food if she can smell/taste this stuff in it so haven't had as good results with her.
There's all sorts of toothpastes which if you've got a willing cat you can rub onto their teeth, or onto a paw so they lick it off http://www.vetuk.co.uk/pet-dental-care-tooth-brushes-tooth-paste-c-11_832
And there's all sorts of stuff you can add into their water http://www.vetuk.co.uk/pet-dental-care-dental-rinses-c-11_834
Then there's good old toothbrushing, but again you have to have a compliant cat!

Diet wise, personally through experience I can't say dry food ever did anything for my cat's teeth. If you watch them eat dry food they mostly swallow it whole or just crack it once with their back molars. Unless you tried the specific dental diets such as hill's t/d which have huge kibbles designed so they have to bite them. Personally though I'd go with a good quality wet food and some of the above suggestions. I also give mine raw meat and quail bones to chew on, it gives her mouth a good workout and tearing and chewing meat and cracking bones is supposed to keep the teeth clean.

Lovely thanks for all those suggestions:)
Oh jesus I couldnt imagine her letting me brush her teeth:eek::pac:

MsQuinn

How bad is the smell? My cats got their teeth scaled and cleaned recently and given the all clear from the vet. However their breath still smells. It's not unbearable but reminds me of my bosses breath (he doesn't brush his teeth - nor do my cats)

ziggy23

MsQuinn wrote: »

How bad is the smell? My cats got their teeth scaled and cleaned recently and given the all clear from the vet. However their breath still smells. It's not unbearable but reminds me of my bosses breath (he doesn't brush his teeth - nor do my cats)

Quite strong I tend to duck if she's yawning:eek:
It's kinda a fishy/meaty smell as someone else said.